Roberto Mussi Residence Palace, Brussels 10th February 2009 SUSTAINABLE ENERGY GOES MAINSTREAM Where EU energy projects meet the media Media Coverage Analysis G.V. Fracastoro, R. Mussi Department of Energetics Politecnico di Torino

Main results Analysis of sustainable energy topics in a survey group of European newspapers and magazines Classification and data base of 100 articles according to topic (solar, wind,…) and typology (editorial, scientific report, interview,…) List of Strengths and Weaknesses in the way of presenting energy issues by mainstream and specialized media

100 articles 4 Languages 6 EU countries + USA (see next slide) 28 magazine/newspapers 12 regularly monitored (mainly specialized) 16 single articles (mainly mainstream)

ITALY Energia, Ambiente ed Innovazione Gestione Energia Ilsoleatrecentosessantagradi Progetto Energia GERMANY Photon Sun and Wind Energy UK The Engineer ReFocus Energy world SPAIN Energias renovables FRANCE Energie Plus Revue de l’energie

First level topics

MCA Outcomes “WHAT A MACHINE DOES” VS. “HOW A MACHINE WORKS” Don’t try to condense in a few lines “how a machine works” if you are not familiar with its technology. It is more effective to say “what it does” and present in separate “boxes” technical descriptions, or references to internet sites. IDEOLOGICAL VS. PRAGMATIC Don’t analyse RES topics with prejudice. No need to be a negationist nor an environmental fundamentalist. Each technology has its advantages or drawbacks which depend on the context and should be clearly mentioned. SUSTAINABLE ENERGY VS. HIDDEN ADS Don’t use articles about RES and “sustainability” to advertise a company, nor fall in the trap of politicians who just want to use them for gaining political consensus from electors. SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT VS. “FROM THE DESK” Almost always, “on the field” project descriptions or personal interviews of those partaking in the project lead to an interesting article, while an article written from the journalist news-desk may soon become boring and trivial. Go and see!

Rodolfo Perez Saracibar Residence Palace, Brussels 10th February 2009 SUSTAINABLE ENERGY GOES MAINSTREAM Where EU energy projects meet the media How the sustainable energy projects can be best promoted to the media

Tips for an effective communication Define your message: Identify information that could be interesting to the media Present the results of your project and show practical applications in daily life Give concrete examples and be as clear as possible Connect your message to the news agenda Target the audience Disseminate your message using a press release Put the most information first and find a “catchy” tittle Build good relations with the media Evaluate the results of your communication strategy